1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to rackets for hitting game playing objects and, more particularly, is concerned with a racket for a ball to be hit and guided (advanced, or "stick-handled") at the ground, comprising a shaft and a grid structure striking face extending angularly from said shaft.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In sports and pastime activities, a large number of rackets (also referred to as sticks, bats, clubs or similar) are known. Among these are a first group of rackets comprising shafts disposed as an extension of the longitudinal axis of a relatively large striking face (tennis, squash, badminton, table tennis "rackets" etc.) as well as a further group of rackets comprising a relatively small striking face extending angularly away from the shaft (e.g. ice hockey, street hockey, field hockey and golf "rackets").
U.S Pat. No. 4,340,224 discloses a racket (stick) for ice hockey goalkeepers comprising a surface extending from the shaft in angular fashion and, connected thereto, a surface of the same width arranged in extension of the stick shaft. Both faces comprise a frame in which a net made of nylon or leather strings are tension mounted. The purpose of this net is to avoid or at least diminish rebounds of the puck from the stick. Otherwise, this stick is in no way different from the typical construction of an ice hockey goalkeeper's stick.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,410 relates to a ball hockey stick with a closed, dished striking face arranged angularly in relation to the shaft, whereby between said striking face and said shaft there is provided a striking face also angular in relation to the shaft and diverging in relation to the dished striking face. Hereby, the dished striking face serves for hitting a ball while the diverging striking face is meant for guiding (handling) a ball.
EP 0 74 339 A1 teaches a tennis racket deviating from the typical construction for tennis rackets. While its striking face and its shaft, each viewed on its own, correspond to the hitting face and the shaft of a typical tennis racket, the longitudinal axis of the essentially oval striking face is disposed angularly in relation to the shaft whereby the extended axis of the shaft runs through the center of the striking face.